1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices used to clean the brushes mounted in the floor cleaning attachments and rotating brush floor vacuum units of vacuum cleaners. The present invention may be used to clean hair, lint, carpet fiber, dirt and the like that collect in the bristles of the brushes as well as such material that builds up and becomes entangled around a rotating brush roller.
2. Description of Related Art
There are currently in use various means to clean the brushes of the floor element of a vacuum cleaner. The most common is for the user to simple use the fingers of the hand to clean hair, lint, dirt and carpet fiber from the brushes. In the instance of thread, hair or fiber wound around a rotating brush roller, the material may be so tightly affixed that resort to aids such as a knife may be necessary to remove such material.
For relatively loose material in the brushes, in those cases where the vacuum cleaner has a suction attachment that may be pressed against the brushes, such suction attachment may be moved over the brushes to suction loose material into the vacuum. This does not work for compacted or tightly wound material in the brushes or around a brush roller.
The present invention includes a primary and secondary set of brush cleaning elements which engage the vacuum cleaner floor brush bristles as well as the rotating brush roller element for such brush bristles when a roller element is present. The primary brush cleaning element is adjustable in height in order to engage the hard surface of the rotating brush roller. The cleaning element is constructed of rigid wire elements in order to engage and remove tightly attached thread and the like from the roller. The secondary brush cleaning element is comprised of short protrusions or wire elements in the bottom of the tray of the brush cleaner. As a vacuum cleaner brush element is pushed or rotated on these secondary brush cleaning element protrusions the dust, hair, thread and the like is knocked out of the vacuum brush bristles.
The brush cleaner tray may just be placed on the floor and a vacuum cleaner floor brush element moved into it for purposes of cleaning. The rotating portion of the vacuum cleaner floor element may be rotated in the tray to clean bristles as well as items entangled against the hard surface of the roller element. Regular use of the brush cleaner will prevent build up of debris on the vacuum brush roller which may then migrate to the bearings of the brush roller element. Removal of such debris helps prevent damage to the bearings or in more extreme cases where roller rotation is inhibited the end caps, main housing or vacuum motor may be damaged.